Rafael Nadal makes 1000th straight week inside the world's top 100
ATP
Rafael Nadal has been inside the world's top 100 for 1000 consecutive weeks.
The indomitable Spaniard passed the milestone this week, having made his debut inside the world's elite 100 players on 21st April 2003.
Incredibly, the date that Nadal first entered the top 100 was two weeks before current World No. 1, Carlos Alcaraz, was even born and eight days before Holger Rune was born.
Since that April, Rafael Nadal has officially remained one of the world's best 100 players (and for the majority of that time, he remained firmly rooted inside the top 5).
Only during a brief drop in rankings a couple of times for a few months in 2015 and 2016 did the 22-time Grand Slam champion slip outside the top 5.
While not something that will be celebrated by Rafa himself, it should be noted that it really is a quite remarkable feat for Spaniard. Given that he will still be inside the top 100 by next April, it essentially represents two decades of Nadal's permanent presence as an elite player.
It might come as a timely morale boost, given that Nadal exited the ATP Finals in Turin this week following two opening losses in the group stage of the competition.
The 14-time French Open champion, who has never won the season-ending ATP Finals in his career, lost in straight sets to Norway's Casper Ruud and Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime.
It is the most major trophy never to have won by the Spaniard, who typically struggles on the indoor hard courts, after a long and gruelling season on tour. This year has been more bruising than most, with Rafa having sustained a cracked rib, an abdominal tear and his ongoing foot problems.
Despite this, he ends the year guaranteed to be ranked inside the top 5 yet again, and also have a couple of Grand Slams victories to his name.
